Thousands of Russians march in protest over Vladimir Putin and the economy

Thousands of Russians have marched in protests demanding the resignation of
the prime minister, Vladimir Putin, for his handling of the country's
flailing economy.

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Communism supporters and members of the Action Society of Russia's Citizens march during a protest in central VladivostokPhoto: REUTERS

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Participants in a rally organized by the main pro-Kremlin United Russia party gather on the Manezh Square next to the Kremlin in MoscowPhoto: AP

By Adrian Blomfield in Vladivostok

1:09PM GMT 31 Jan 2009

The biggest display of public disaffection with Russia's normally popular prime minister prompted a violent response in Moscow, the capital.

The head of the National Bolshevik Party, Eduard Limonov, is arrested by police in Moscow

Pro Kremlin youths brutally beat some protestors, while others were detained, including Eduard Limonov, a prominent Kremlin critic and leader of the outlawed National Bolshevik Party.

But the largest turnout was in Vladivostok, the focal point of anti-government protests over the past six weeks.

A protest march led by Communist party officials and civil rights leaders was allowed to go ahead at the last minute in an apparent change of heart by the Kremlin. A rally last month was violently dispersed by riot police, and over 200 people were detained.

The march was sanctioned on the condition that demonstrators kept off the road, carried no banners and chanted no slogans.

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The marchers blithely ignored the restrictions. Marching down the city's main street, they chanted "Putin resign!". Some banners compared even compared the prime minister to Hitler.

Although only several hundred began the march, ordinary passersby applauded in encouragement as they passed and many even joined them. By the time the demonstrators reached their finishing point in a square dominated by a statue of Lenin, their number had swelled to nearly 2,000.

It might not seem like a huge number, but the government has reason to be worried. Russia is a country where most dissenters -- save for a small hardcore group led by former chess champion Garry Kasparov - have been cowed into submission.

As Russia's economy implodes after years of energy-fuelled growth, the Kremlin has reacted in panic to the possibility of growing social discontent. Commentators warn that anger over the economy, which is expected to shrink by up to three per cent this year, could reverse Mr Putin's popularity and undermine his ambitions to cling to power.

Nearly all in Vladivostok were marching for economic reasons: a raise in import duties on imports of second-hand foreign cars, the mainstay of the regional economy, a 25 percent hike in utility tariffs and rising unemployment. But they were all united in their belief that Mr Putin was responsible for the crisis and that he must go.

Most had never been on a mach before, yet fear was not the prevalent emotion despite the violence used to disperse last month's rally.

"I was furious when I heard Putin speaking fairy tales in Davos about how our economy is under control," said Yeygeny Antipov, a 21-year-old student, insisting that he was not afraid to be marching against the government for the first time.

"It is my duty to stand up for my rights," he said. "I want to live in a good place, I want my children to grow up in a free country not a gulag."

Even more worrying for the government, the rally was led by the Communist party -- which has been wary of criticising Mr Putin in the past -- and a new grassroots movement called Tiger, which draws together a range of disaffected residents from Russia's far east.

Tiger is the kind of organisation that the Kremlin particularly fears, a civil rights movement with no political allegiance.

Only formed last month, the movement has spread rapidly across eastern Russia. A 14-point manifesto released earlier this month demanded that the new tariffs on foreign car imports be dropped. But it also called for the resignation of Mr Putin, the restoration of free speech and government respect for the constitution.

The authorities responded forcefully, shutting down Tiger's website, arresting two prominent members and sending the feared FSB, the KGB's successor, to interrogate youngsters who had posted messages on the organisation's website.

In another part of Vladivostok, the ruling United Russia party held a pro-Putin rally, attended by some 4,000 people including local officials who last month opposed the government's hike on import duties. The change of heart came after United Russia's leader in Vladivostok was sacked by Mr Putin.